MDC Youth Assembly joins UZ fees must fall campaign

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28 Jun 2017

By Shakespeare Muzavazi

Soon after the arrest of the #Tajamuka\Sijikile patron Pastor Evan Mawarire, the MDC-T Youth Assembly has joined the University of Zimbabwe medicine student’s struggle against the recent fees hike by the tertiary institution.

In a press release, the MDC-T National Youth Commander Happymore Chidziva popularly known as leader Bvondo vehemently criticized the way the Zanu PF government has handled the student’s protest.

The press release reads; “It is really disturbing that genuine expression of students issues are perpetually being met with State’s wrathful arm. Yesterday saw a violent crackdown of University of Zimbabwe students, who were peacefully protesting against the ever increasing and un-affordable university fees.

“Education is a basic right which has proven to be a very effective vehicle in fighting poverty across the globe, hence it should not be accessible to the HAVE only, while the without continues floating in abject poverty.

“Without doubt, our economy has all the right ingredients and potential to subsidize and even to fund every child up to tertiary education. But such a potential remains a dream until we have a caring government to proffer in alternative governance culture and position education as a right.

Instead of being influenced to reform by student’s frustrations and expressions, both the university authorities and the government, opted to remain faithful to their old self, of brutal and dismissive.

“My genuine submission is to urge students to be participants in matters which have everything to do with our future.

“At the same time I would like to salute and applaud the students for being brave in registering their displeasure to the continued increase of the already exorbitant fees. The right to demonstrate is constitutionally guaranteed and no amount of suppression by the state will replace such a right.

“However, I am deeply disturbed by the reported evictions of medical students, who have been left in the cold as punishment for exercising their constitutional right to demonstrate,” read the press release.